<p>The ongoing controversy regarding potholes on the roads in Kerala got another twist, as an advertisement for a latest Malayalam film asked people to come watch it in theatres—despite the said potholes in the roads.</p>.<p>The Malayalam movie ‘Nnna Thaan Case Kodu’ (Then You Go File a Case) advertised asking viewers to come see the film with the catchline ‘Vazhiyil Kuzhiyindu, ennalum vannekkane’ (There are potholes in the road, but still come).</p>.<p>This triggered strong reactions from Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) supporters, who considered it a criticism against the state government over bad roads. The party supporters started a campaign against the film on social media, asking people to boycott it, while another section supported the catchline.</p>.<p>Kerala witnessed a massive dissension over the bad condition of major roads in the state, which even led to fatal accidents and invited the high court’s harsh criticism.</p>.<p>The atrociously maintained national highways and state roads, that led to dangerous potholes, gained denunciation for both the CPM-led Left Democratic Front government in the state, and the Bharatiya Janata Party at the centre.</p>.<p>Actor Kunchacko Boban, who stars in the film, said the catchline was not aimed at insulting any government, but to highlight a social issue which is also related to the movie. It needed to be taken in the right sense, he appealed to the public.</p>.<p>Kerala public works minister P A Mohammed Riyas, too, said the catchline should only be considered as a promotional tactic for the film.</p>.<p>Riyas’s recent censure of the central government, over potholes on national highways, had triggered a counter-campaign against the state government over the badly maintained state roads.</p>.<p>After external affairs minister S Jaishankar, and minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan, reviewed a still-in-progress work on a national highway by-pass in Thiruvananthapuram last month, Riyas had commented that union ministers should also count the potholes on the national highways.</p>
<p>The ongoing controversy regarding potholes on the roads in Kerala got another twist, as an advertisement for a latest Malayalam film asked people to come watch it in theatres—despite the said potholes in the roads.</p>.<p>The Malayalam movie ‘Nnna Thaan Case Kodu’ (Then You Go File a Case) advertised asking viewers to come see the film with the catchline ‘Vazhiyil Kuzhiyindu, ennalum vannekkane’ (There are potholes in the road, but still come).</p>.<p>This triggered strong reactions from Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) supporters, who considered it a criticism against the state government over bad roads. The party supporters started a campaign against the film on social media, asking people to boycott it, while another section supported the catchline.</p>.<p>Kerala witnessed a massive dissension over the bad condition of major roads in the state, which even led to fatal accidents and invited the high court’s harsh criticism.</p>.<p>The atrociously maintained national highways and state roads, that led to dangerous potholes, gained denunciation for both the CPM-led Left Democratic Front government in the state, and the Bharatiya Janata Party at the centre.</p>.<p>Actor Kunchacko Boban, who stars in the film, said the catchline was not aimed at insulting any government, but to highlight a social issue which is also related to the movie. It needed to be taken in the right sense, he appealed to the public.</p>.<p>Kerala public works minister P A Mohammed Riyas, too, said the catchline should only be considered as a promotional tactic for the film.</p>.<p>Riyas’s recent censure of the central government, over potholes on national highways, had triggered a counter-campaign against the state government over the badly maintained state roads.</p>.<p>After external affairs minister S Jaishankar, and minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan, reviewed a still-in-progress work on a national highway by-pass in Thiruvananthapuram last month, Riyas had commented that union ministers should also count the potholes on the national highways.</p>